Toy aeroplane



A. Z. BAKER.

TOY AEROPLANE- APPLICATION FILED FEB-17,1920. I

1 ,352,343. PatentedSept. 7, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- A TTORIJEYS A. Z. BAKER.

TOY AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 11, I920.

1,352,343. Patentedsept- 7, 1920.

' HEET 2.

2 SHEETS-S IN YEN TOR Jllfred Z. Baker- I TTORNEYS UNITED STATES ALFRED ZANTZINGER BAKER, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

TOY AEROPLANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 7, 1920.

Application filed February 17, 1920. Serial No. 359,436.

To all whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that I, ALFRED ZANTZINGER BAKER, a citizen of the United States, and

a resident of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Toy Aeroplane, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to toyaeroplanes and flying machines, and has for a general and primary object the production of a toy so designed and constructed as to make possible the economical quantity production of toys.

An additional purpose of the invention is to provide a toy aeroplane of the knockdown or dismantled type in order that it may be packed for the market in comparatively small cartons to facilitate transportation and distribution thereof.

It is a purpose of the invention to produce a toy aeroplane of the monoplane type having a novel wing structure, and having a novel connecting means employed for quickly assembling the wings on the body of the plane.

A further objectof theinvention resides in the particular construction of a certainsocket attachment used in connection with the assembly of the toy to eliminate the use of permanent structural means, such as screws, nails or tacks.

It is also a purpose to provide a toy plane which may be readily changed from a tractor to a pusher aeroplane by simply reversing the position of the parts of the toy.

Finally, it is an object to produce anew and improved top aeroplane the performance of which is efficient, pleasing andinstructive to children using the toy, one which may be readily dismantled and reassembled to change the working relation of the wings, and which is inexpensive to produce and, consequently, may be sold at low price to the trade.

With the above principal and other objects in view, the invention has relation to the combination and arrangement of simplified toy'aeroplane parts, several examples of which are set forth in the appended claims defining the invention; and one particular embodiment and working example of which is described in the following specification and portrayed in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 shows a plan view of the assembled toy aeroplane ready for flight.

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the front end of the toy plane with the propeller head mounting; and Fig. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the rear end of the toy to show a tail bracket which holds the elastic power band for driving the propeller.

Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of one of the wings or aerofoils of the toy plane.

Fig. 5 illustrates a perspective view of one of the socket attachments, or clamp, employed to join the wings to the body of the plane.

Fig. 6 shows a detail sectional view of how the aforesaid socket attachment or clamp is used to mount the wings on the body; and Fig. 7 shows a socket attachment of slightly diflerent design to that shown in the aforesaid views .5 and 6.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a modified form of the socket attachment having a spring-pressed feature to clamp a wing beam.

A toy aeroplane constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention embodies a beam, backbone or bar fuselage on one end of which is fixed a propeller head to rotatably carry a propeller, and on the other end of which is fixed a tail bracket to hold a rubber band for driving the propeller. The bar fuselage is constructed of a single piece of material, wood being suit able for this purpose. A slot is made in each end of the bar fuselage to receive the two attachments mentioned. A pair of socket attachments or clamps are slipped.

scored line or groove. Other novel features of the plane Wlll appear in the following fuller description of the invention.

In presenting a more detailed disclosure of the toy aeroplane, reference is had to the drawings, and there is shown a body, fuselage, or bar 9 each end of which is provided with a slot 10 cut therein for the reception of a propeller head or bracket and a tail bracket. The tail bracket 11 is slipped into position within the slot 10 and is held in place by frictionally engaging the sides of the bar. Likewise, the propeller head mounting or bracket 12 secured to the other end of the bar in the same manner. The brackets 11 and 12 are easy to remove and replace on the body b: r 9.

A propeller 15is fixed on a spindle 16 which has a hook 17 formed on the rear end thereof, and the spindle. is jouri'saied in a. bearing made on the propeller head 12. Small washers or beads are confined on the spindle between the propeller and the hearing to reduce friction and permit the propeller to freely turn. A heavy rubber band, or a braid of heavy elastic hands, 18 is hooked over the tail bracket 11 and connected with the hook 17 of the spindle. The pro peller is wound up by manually rotating it until the rubber band 18 is suliiciently twisted to impart high-speed rotation to the propeller 15 which functions to power the machine sufliciently to cause same to fly when properly launched in the air.

A pair of socket attachments, or clamps, are employed on the bar fuselage to join the wings to the toy alane. The socket attachment or clamp 19 is specially d and constructed to be slipped into I upon the bar fuselage and lric'tionaliy engage same to hold the wings in fixed relation to the bar. The socket attachments 19 are adjusted for position relatively to the propeller upon the bar, and the wings mounted in the position shown in the (:lrawings.

Each wing comprises an aerotoil 2 made of paper, fiber or other suitable material, and glued or otherwise secured to a wing heamil with one end of the wing beam projecting beyond the inner edge of the aerofoil so that the projecting end may be inserted into the socket of the attachment clamp 19. The aerotoils 20 are scored, indented, printed or pressed along the line parallel to th: ad vancing edge of the wing and slightly spaced to the rear thereof to make the wing slightly droop or to give it camber to cause the plane to lift and ascend on a gradual angle when launched into the air. It practical to make a very slight and shallow score 22 in the aerofoil piece 9 0 so that a child may readily adjust the wings to any angle he may desire. It is practical to employ a larger set of wings at one end of the plane than at the other end in order to present a neat appearance and imitate the construction of other aeroplanes.

The tail bracket 11 and propeller head 12 are specially constructed to make them easily attacl'iable and removable from the bar or body fuselage 9. These two parts are made of sheet metal bent an d. lapped together with the lower ends of the lap and adjacent sec tions turned up to form a socket clasp The upper ends 2% are not joined to the body portions 11 and 12 but are slightly spaced therefrom in order to gain a flexible characteristic within the material forming the socket clasp 24 so that when the bracket and head piece are mounted on the bar, there will exist a tight frictional engagement between the bar and the fittings. T he verti "al lapped adj accnt sections 11 and 12 are thrust within the slot 10, which further anchors the fittings 11 and 12 in fixed relation on each end of the bar. The tail bracket 11 is provided with a notch made in the rear edge I thereof for the reception of the rubber power band 18 which is looped over the bracket. The propeller head or fitting 12 has its lapped adjacent parts 12 shaped into a bearing 25 to receive the shaft or spindle 16 carrying the propeller. This bearing is formed on the fitting 1.2 during the manufacture by employinga special form upon which to bend the sheet metal strips 12. This form of toy aeroplane fittings provides a substantial and indestructible l'i'iounting :tor the propeller and power band, and is simple to apply and remove.

The wing socket or wing fitting 19 is used to join the wings and body together is shown in perspective detail in Fig. 5. The socket attachment is specially designed to provide a frictionally engaging socket to receive the body 9 and, likewise, has frictionally engaging socket members to receive and hold the wing beams 21. This socket attachment or fitting is constructed of a. single piece of sheet metal having a resilient or springy characteristic and made by special machinery designed to stamp out and form the fittings. The single piece of sheet metal employed to make this fitting, provides the body portion 19 with outstanding arms 27 which have ears 28 formed on the arms and turned inwardly to bring the edges of each ear approximately together to form a socket receptacle into which the wing beam 31 is mounted. The body 19 is likewise provided with tabs or extensions 29 which are turned inwardly to form a pair of socket receptacles on the attachment fitting to receive and frictionally clamp the fitting in position on the bar 9. It is preferable to shape the outstanding arms 27 on a dihedral angle in order to hold the wings at a dihedral angle relatively to the horizontal for imparting a degree of inherent stability to the plane.

It is practical to construct the wing socket fitting 19 as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, or as shown in Fig. 8. In Figs. 5 and 6 the outstanding arms 27 lie straight outwardly from the body portion 19, or in the same plane with the body portion 19; while the wings socket shown in Fig. 7 is slightly difi'erent in that the outstanding arms are depressed slightly below the plane of the body portion 19, or, more particularly, the outstanding arms are depressed slightlybelow the tabs or extensions 29. When the wing socket fitting shown in Fig. 5 is placed on the bar 9, there is a relation between the bar 9 and wing beams 21, as particularly shown in Fig. 6, to cause the lower end of each of the wing beams to rest against the bar. However, when the socket attachment having the depressed outstanding arms 30 is used, as shown in Fig. 7, the wing beams 21 then slip into position underneath the bar between said bar and the outstanding arms. This arrangement probably more firmly anchors the wing beams to the body because the beam is inserted and held in a double socket arrangement, one socket being made on the outer end of the arm, and the other socket formed by virtue of the end of the beam fitting between the arm and the bar.

Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of an improved and modified form of wing-socket fitting which is practically the same design as the fitting just described excepting it has a struck-up spring tongue 32 which resiliently presses upwardly above the surface of the arms 27. These struck-up spring tongues act to more tightly hold the wing beam in the socket by pressing said beam tightly against the stick or bar fuselage.

In the preferred type of toy plane, the bar 9 is made in cross section in the form of a rhombus, which causes the outstanding arms 27 to assume the proper angular relation in respect to the horizontal to impart a correct flying dihedral angle to the wings. The bar may be varied in cross-sectional shape to vary the position of the arms and thus change the angle of the wings.

In assembling the toy aeroplane, it is only necessary for a child to hold the bar or body 9 in one hand and slip the wing-socket fittings into position, properly adjusting the fittings relatively to the end of the bar. Next the wings 20 are mounted on the body by inserting the wing beams 21 in the socket 28 of the wing-socket fitting. The tail bracket and propeller head are next mounted in position and the rubber power band 18 slipped over the tail bracket and hooked to the propeller shaft. The tail bracket and propeller head are firmly anchored to each end of the bar through a frictional engagement exerted through the socket parts 24, and are further anchored by virtue of the lapped body parts 11. and 12 fitting into the slots 10. These parts hold against the compressional strain exerted by the twisted and wound up power band.

T he drawings forming a part of this disclosure illustrate a tractor type of toy aeroplane, those providing positioning the propeller ahead of the planes adapted to pull the plane through the air due to the attractive effort or the propelling means. It is pointed out that the toy is easily convertible to produce a pusher-type toy aeroplane by simply removing the propeller head 12 and tail bracket 11 and reversing their position so as to place the propeller at the rear of the machine on the bar '9 next to the smaller wings 20, likewise mounting the tail bracket on the front end of the bar 9 adjacent the outer wings. The propeller is then wound up in the opposite direction which rotates in proper position to impart a thrust against Y the plane to drive it through the air with the wings ahead of the propeller. It isseen how this change is conveniently carried out by the simple operation of reversing the parts 11 and 12 in respect to the bar or stick 9.

By properly maneuvering the plane and launching the same into the air it will fly away under its own power and gradually climb on a perfect angle until the driving force oi the rubber band is spent, .vhereupon the toy plane will lightly glide to earth. By properly adjusting the angle of camber of the aeroioils 20, it is possible to make it climb very rapidly or gradually. Also, it is possible to so adjust the wings in respect to horizontal flight that the plane will loop the loop.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A toy aeroplane comprising a body portion or fuselage made from a. single piece in the form of a bar having a slot cut in each end thereof, wing fittings mounted on the bar, wings attached to the fittings, and a propeller head and tail bracket fitted on each end of the bar by engaging the slots, said propeller head and tail bracket characterized by having socket clasps which surround and clamp the bar.

2. A toy aeroplane comprising a. body portion or fuselage made from a'single piece in the form of? a bar having a slot cut in each end thereof, wing iitings mounted on the bar, wings attached to the fittings, a propeller head and tail bracket fitted on each end of the bar by engaging the slot, and a slight score made in the wings parallel to and just to the rear of the lez'iding edge thereof to facilitate the adjustment of the camber of the wing.

3. A toy aeroplane comprising, a fuselage made from a single piece in the form of a bar having slot in each end hereof, a tail bracket having a socket slipped into the slot and engaging the bar, a propeller head having a socket to receive the end of the bar and being slipped into the slot to firmly engage the bar, a propeller mounted in the propeller head and havin a driving means, and wings attached to the bar.

4. A toy aeroplane comprising, a fuselage made from. a single piece in the form of a bar having a slot in each end thereof, a tail bracket having a socket slipped into the slot and engaging the bar, a propeller head hav ing a socket slipped into the slot and firmly engaging the bar, a propeller mounted in the propeller head and having a driving means, and wings attached to the bar, said wings provided. with a slight score or depression made on a line parallel to the advancing edges of the wing and slightly to the rear thereof toenable the adjustment in the camber of the wing to change the climbing angle thereof.

5. A toy aeroplane comprising, a fuselage made in a single piece in the form of a bar and having a slot cut in each end thereof, a tail bracket made from a piece of sheet metal lapped together to form'an upright which is inserted in the slot, and a socket clasped over on the tail bracket by turning up each end of the sheet metal to frictionally engage the edges of the bar, a propeller head constructed of sheet metal lapped together to form a fitting inserted in the slot and having socket clasps engaging the sides of the bar, a bearing made on the propeller head, Wing sockets held on the bar, a wing beam inserted in each socket, an aerofoil secured to each wing beam, and a score or depression made in the wing on a line parallel to the advancing edge thereof to facilitate the adjustment of the flight angle of the aeroplane.

6. A wing construction for use in connection with toy aeroplanes comprising, a wing beam, an aerofoil joined to the wing beam, and a slight score made in the material of the aerofoil to facilitate the adjustment of the camber or flight angle of the wing.

7. A wing socket attachment for use in connection with toy aeroplanes having a body and having a wing with projecting beams, comprising a sheet metal body portion, outstanding arms made thereon, ears integral with the outstanding arms and turned inwardly to form a socket receptacle to receive the aforesaid projecting beams, and tabs or extensions made adjacent each outstandingarm and turned inwardly to form a frictional socket to engage the body of the toy aeroplane.

8. A wing socket attachment for use in connection with toy aeroplanes having a body in the form of a bar and having wings with projecting beams, comprising a sheetmetal body portion, outstanding arms made on the sheet-metal body portion, sockets carried by the sheet-metal arms to receive the aforesaid projecting wing beams, and extension pieces made on the body portion adjacent each edge of the outstanding arms and turned inwardly to form a socket to receive the bar with said bar anchored in the socket attachment against the projecting wing beams.

9. A socket attachment for use in connection with toy aeroplanes having a body made in the form of a bar and having wings with projecting wing beams, comprising a sheet-metal body portion, ears formed thereon and turned inwardly to form a socket receptacle into which the bar is slipped and firmly engaged, outstanding arms made on the body portion and slightly spaced from the bar, and a socket integrally formed with each outstanding arm to receive the aforesaid projecting wing beams so that the beams fit into the wing socket with the lower end of the beams in position between the bar and the extension arm.

10. A propeller head mounting for use in conneition with toy aeroplanes, comprising a sheet-metal piece lapped together, a bearing formed between the lapped sheet-metal part, and the ends of the sheet-metal piece turned upwardly to form socket clasps.

11. An improvement in toy aeroplane con- ALFRED ZANTZINGER BAKER. 

